Sappi is once again the subject of speculation over a potential takeover bid following a rise in its share price of over 5% to 6.45 (R76.1).


This follows executive chairman Eugene Van As statement at Sappis third-quarter results that "given the right opportunity, Sappi would like to enter the consolidation marketplace" (PrintWeek, 3 August).


One suspect for the potential takeover of the South African group could be Stora Enso, which like Sappi, has suffered from market conditions.


A spokesman for Stora Enso said he expected consolidation to continue throughout the coming year across the paper and printing industry, but declined to comment further.


Sappis director of strategic development, Robert Hope, said the company would not make any comment on speculation.


"We will only enter the consolidation market when it is the right time for Sappi," he said.


Hope said the 552m finance facility recently negotiated by Sappi would be used as a "facility for general corporate purposes", but could not elaborate on what exactly this would be.


Credit Lyonnais analyst Christian Georges said that apart from Stora Enso, it would only potentially be the big players, such as International Paper and UPM-Kymmene, who would pay the full price for Sappi.


"These rumours of a takeover of Sappi have been surfacing for several years now, so it will be interesting to see if anything develops," he said.


Story by Andy Scott